Characters include Yuri Kozukata, a local occultist who vibes “good witch” Ren Hojo, an investigator hired to look into a missing person case and Miu Hinasaki, a young woman who shares a last name with the protagonist of the first game. Things here don’t just go bump in the night they ooze, and shriek, and claw at you through the walls. Like its predecessors, Black Water puts players in the shoes of a rotating cast of characters exploring a forgotten, Very Haunted, Japanese village. It’s still a heck of a lot scarier than most modern horror games – I’m looking at you, Resident Evil – but it’s no longer that game with the bloody handprints that spooked my sister all those years ago. By turns too generous with items – when you can survive almost anything, the survival part of “survival horror” goes out the window – and too linear – when you know exactly where you’re going, the tension dries up – it’s nevertheless a unique, Ringu-influenced horror experience that’s worth checking out. It has one great central gimmick – a first-person “camera obscura” which is your only means of defence – and its arrival on next-gen systems is nothing short of a Halloween miracle.įatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water – technically, Fatal Frame 5, though the fourth entry never saw Western release – is probably the least scary Fatal Frame to date. If you’ve ever waded into Fatal Frame‘s murky, quasi-black-and-white waters, you’ll understand the sheer terror of its crumbling Japanese environs, creepy dolls, and unpredictable ghosts.
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Long a cult classic, it also enjoys the distinct reputation, for those who’ve played it, of being the single scariest “survival horror” series of all time. The Fatal Frame (also known as Project Zero) series has for too long been the overlooked kid sibling to the Resident Evils and Silent Hills of the world. It wasn’t Fatal Frame‘s best scare, but this terrifying breaking of the fourth wall was certainly one its most memorable. In my absence, a series of bloody handprints had manifested on top of the pause menu, as if some invisible spirit tried to claw its way out of the TV. Returning to the room, I found her cowering in the corner, blankets pulled up tight.
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I paused for a bathroom break, leaving her alone with the PS2 controller and an admonition not to proceed without me. The year was 2002, and my sister and I were playing Fatal Frame late one school night, well after bedtime. You, alone, late at night, in a room lit only by candles and the glistening eyes of a thousand porcelain dolls. Released on Octofor PS5 (Reviewed), Switch (Reviewed), PS4, Xbox X/S, Xbox One, and PC.Ī remastered version of the least scariest, yet still scary, entry in the greatest survival horror series. Whether it's a AAA budget title like Resident Evil or a smaller indie title, the genre can take the player on an emotional rollercoaster that is unmatched.Our review of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, developed by Koei-Tecmo. However, in terms of pure fear, terror, and jump-scares, it doesn't match up to its predecessor or some of the best in the genre. Even though that went back to Resident Evil 4 territory with its surprisingly good action elements, it still had a good dose of scares for fans. Updated by Michael Llewellyn on June 18, 2021: The horror genre continues to gain more ground with fans after the commercial hit that was Resident Evil Village. This is accomplished by ramping up the tension and capitalizing on the jump-scares at the right time. In that vein, these scary games get their jump scares right. Unlike action horror, survival horror genre only truly works if the player feels as if their character’s life is on the line at all times. RELATED: Reasons Resident Evil Is The Best Horror Game Franchise (& Reasons It's Amnesia) This is after the genre went on something of hiatus. Developers preferred the action-horror game route for a time after the commercially successful Resident Evil 4. The survival horror genre has seen something of a resurgence in recent years after with the Resident Evil series getting back to form with its most recent entries.